andre-photo

Romantic Brittany – Abbaye du Beauport

andre_ — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:07:49 +0000

I’m just developing the photos from our last holyday, in July.
We went in Bretagne, north west France, discovering traditions, nature… and good food, of course.

One of the firsts days, we stopped near Paimpol, in the the Côte di Goëlo, north of Saint-Brieuc.
And, in a nice sunny day, we went to Beauport Abbey, actually a ruins of the medieval monastry, abandoned in the early XIX century.
At the end of the romanticism….

And that day, I shooted my photos according with the site’s feel.

All these BW shots are made with the D700 together with the 24-70 zoom, and a blue/violet filtre.

Who is been in Tuscany, maybe could remember St. Galgano’s ruins, near Siena.

48° 46′ 5.34″ N 3° 1′ 14.472001201021″ W

…And in some photos the PostProduction is more “invasive” than normally, with a little transform correction, just to pretend to be a large-format-photographer…

48° 46′ 4.908″ N 3° 1′ 14.981998758535″ W

But, normally, a little rung is enough.

48° 46′ 4.962″ N 3° 1′ 14.43″ W

Some graves, in the former-church area, contribute to improve the feel.

48° 46′ 5.1300012014898″ N 3° 1′ 15.114″ W

48° 46′ 4.296″ N 3° 1′ 14.981998758535″ W

And some other “romantic corners”.

48° 46′ 5.1179988040662″ N 3° 1′ 15.539998799736″ W

Of course, these photos are not representative of the holyday, but maybe they describe one mood.
a_

Easter 2010 – Barcelona

andre_ — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:31:03 +0000

Another trip, made in April this year.
“Children in Barcelona” was the starter, and now the Whole Trip to Barcelona is on line, as the main course.

Four days, few quarters, many kilometers walked through the city.
About sixty photos, here (over more than 360 made), less correlated each other than any trip.
I don’t know why, but this peculiarity is quite important, enjoying the galleries.

The photos are mostly BW, partially because of the wheather, but more often because it’s the best way to describe every big town…

41° 22′ 6.701998788613″ N 2° 9′ 34.62599893447″ E

41° 22′ 58.3032″ N 2° 10′ 37.0848″ E

Also the Sagrada Familia is in BW, in my sight, as well as the Joan Miró’s handworks.

41° 22′ 7.0392″ N 2° 9′ 34.4232″ E

But there’s something that claim the colors.
Casa Batlló, Parc Güell….

41° 24′ 49.326001128032″ N 2° 9′ 11.052″ E

So, let’s start from THIS PAGE.
a_

Children in Barcelona

andre_ — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:05:12 +0000

A cloudy day during our last trip, in Barcelona.
Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, near the cathedal, in the Barri Gotic (the medieval nuke of the city).

A group of children play, run and shout in the old, fashionable place. Maybe they were pupils from the near school.

Normally, I don’t like take photos of children (actually, I don’t like children at all), but in that very moment, with the low contrast from the diffuse light, the scene was very involving.

And I stole some photos.
All in less than two minutes, from different points of view, and without any change in my gear.
All the photos I’ve taken are shown here.

These first two are my preferred, but I recommend to enjoy the pictures from the gallery below, one after another.

41° 23′ 0.51600120084059″ N 2° 10′ 29.975998807394″ E

41° 22′ 59.436001245718″ N 2° 10′ 30.906001062135″ E

…And the children didn’t notice me, kept on playing.
a_

The spider’s lunch – some macro

andre_ — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 21:51:44 +0000

A cloudy day, last September.
The right day for a little macro shooting, near Randers, where I live.

My camera, a couple of macro lenses and the ring flash (Metz 15 MS-1).
It’s all I needed to describe some little tragedies.

Or some lunches, it depends which side of the table you are sitting on….

Spiders are the characters in every shoot.
Flies, mostly, are the meal.

A pair of solitary eaters:

And two fellows… that fight for a succulent fly:

And one change its seats…. til the other side of the table:

Quite strange situation, in a restaurant, but not in a wood, perhaps.
a_

Öland – The last page of Sweden 2009′s trip

andre_ — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:39:24 +0000

The last days before coming back to Danmark.
An unusual landscape, after many days sourrounded by woods, forests and lakes.

A flat island, and almost completely devoid of trees: Öland.
Peculiar….
So peculiar that I’ve taken about 150 photos in these two days.
And I’ve chosen one third, to show you.

Because a lot of photos are needed to describe properly the various landscapes….

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f11, 1/1000sec, bias -1EV

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/500sec, bias 2/3EV

D700 at 200ISO, 28mm f2.8 AF, f11, 1/500sec, bias -1/3EV

The typical windmills (corrently about 250, on the over two thousands existent an hundred years ago):

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f5.6, 1/1600sec, bias 2/3EV

And their simple mechanism…

D700 at 6400ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/20sec, bias -1EV

And the historic sites (origilnal and rebuild), where you can see, breath and listen old tales…

D700 at 6400ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/8sec, bias -2/3EV

And of course some birds… Here particurlaly happy for the meal.

D700 at 200ISO, 180mm f2.8 AF, f5.6, 1/2000sec, bias 1/3EV

The whole gallery is on THIS PAGE.
It’s a very huge gallery, I know, but be patient, and enjoy it.
a_

Sigurd runestone tells a saga

andre_ — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:38:01 +0000

D700 at 200ISO, 16mm f2.8 AF, f5.6, 1/100sec, bias 0EV

“Otter was one of Rodmar’s three sons. When he fished for salmon, he took on the shape of an otter. On one such occasion, the Æsir Loki, Hörnir and Odin happened by on their way to Rodmar’s house where they planned to spend the night. The Æsir thought that an otter skin would be a suitable gift for Rodmar. So, Otter was killed by a stone Loki threw at him.

Later that evening the three Æsir went to Rodmar and showed him their prey. Rodmar became angry, and demanded that the Æsir filled the otter skin with gold as penance for the crime. Loki went to the Anvara river and used his net to catch the rich dwarf Andvari, who had taken on the shape of a pike.

The dwarf purchased his freedom with all his gold he owned, except for one gold ring. But the gold was not enough to fill the otter skin. One more piece of gold was needed. Andvari tried to hide his ring. When Loki ripped the ring from his hand, the dwarf spoke a curse over all who come in contact with the gold, especially the magic gold ring.

Once Rodmar had received the gold, he did not want to share it with his other two sons, Fafnir and Regin. Fafnir became enraged and killed his father to get at the gold. Thereafter, Fafnir took the shape of a snake and brooded on top of the gold in his home, in a place called Gnitaheden.

Regin, the other brother who was a smith, wanted his share of the patrimony and planned to seize the gold through trickery. He brought Sigurd, who had earlier become his foster son, into his plans. He forged a razor-sharp sword, named Gram, for Sigurd.

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/160sec, bias 0EV

Urged on by his foster father Reign, Sigurd dug a hole in the ground at Gnitaheden, where Fafnir (in the shape of a snake) used to slither his way to a lake to drink. When Fafnir passed the hole, Sigurd stabbed him through the heart with his sword, Gram. Fafnir died and Sigurd was given the name of Fafnesbane (the slayer of Fafnir).

D700 at 400ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/125sec, bias 0EV

After the deed, Regin asked Sigurd to roast the heart of Fafnir over an open fire. He wanted to eat the heart so that the soul of Fafnir would not die, because after all he was Regin’s brother.
Sigurd accidently burnt himself and put his finger in his mouth. He got Fafnir’s blood on his tongue. Instantly he could understand the meaning of the birdsong.

The birds warned Sigurd. Regin was planning to kill him, partly to revenge his brother Fafnir, partly to get the treasure for himself. The birds advised Sigurd to kill Regin.
Sigurd sought out Regin and cut off his head so that he would escape his thoughts in the future.

Then, Sigurd travelled to Fafnir’s home, where he found the disputed gold and many other precious objects. He loaded the treasure onto his horse Grani, a direct descendant of Odin’s horse Sleipnir. However, Grani refused to move from his stall before Sigurd himself mounted.”

Drawing source: Wikipedia

This is the Sigurd Fafnesbane history, according to the Vöslunga saga.
We found this peculiar runestone (poetically called Sö 101) close to Rasmund (near Eskiltuna), where it was carved in XII century.
Maybe it isn’t the best Sigurd stone, for the artistic contents, but it’ s probably the most complete description of the Saga.
Large (at least six meters), the stone summarize some anecdotes of the story:

It’s here:

View Larger Map

Another stage of the Sweden’s journey – The Göta Kanal

andre_ — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:17:30 +0000

Note: The holiday is on line!
In the “trip” category, starting from THIS LINK

In a trip in southern Sweden, one of the charatheristic sights is the Göta Kanal.
Built in the late XIX Century, this 190Km long canal has boon its importance to link the Vättern lake to the Baltic Sea.

We met a pair of the 58 locks, where we could admire the perfection of the engineering works, opposed to the complete inability of the tourists to manage it.
The result was funny…

Undoubtedly, the locks are a good subject for the photos…

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/640sec, bias -2/3EV

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/800sec, bias -1 2/3EV

A good location to shoot a portrait:

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f8, 1/400sec, bias -1EV

In the gallery, below, the other images.
Note: the two birds in this gallery are taken near the little lake where our B&B was, between Vänern and Vättern lakes.

Summer trip 2009 – Sweden

andre_ — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:43:31 +0000

Note: The photos in this post are replicated in the Trip’s Pages, in “Sweden Summer 2009” section

Let’s start the summer holiday’s trip!

Of course, not in this very moment… but this is the first gallery to describe the trip Francesca and I had last summer.
It began in a outstanding night, the day before last Francesca’s birthday.
From Grenaa’s harbour, by ferry, til Varberg, in Sweden.

One of the brightest summer’s nights.
We waited briefly for the ferry, at eleven o’clock PM:

D700 at 3200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f5.6, 1/60sec, bias -2/3EV

To leave the dock around midnight…

D700 at 3200ISO, 105mm f2 AF, f2.8, 1/125sec, bias 0EV

Ad stay few hours on the boat:

D700 at 1600ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f4, 1/100sec, bias 0EV

D700 at 3200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f4, 1/40sec, bias -2/3EV

Not too many, for enjoying the sunrise in Sweden:

D700 at 200ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f5.6, 1/3200sec, bias 0EV

And below, a little reportage of the trip in the gallery:

Vis 2009 SE – 01 journey på et større kort

Snow over Randers

andre_ — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:12:51 +0000

After some very cold days, finally we have reached the meltin point again… gaining a span of snow.
And today a warm, heavy, wet snow grab and hugs everything.

D700 at 3200ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 35mm, f4, 1/20sec, bias 1/3EV

Of course, with a nice wheather like this, we went to Randers’ downtown, through the swamp along the Gudenå (the river that lead the sea here in the fjord).

Just out of home, the landscape was so:

D700 at 800ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 35mm, f4, 1/100sec, bias 2/3EV

And the swamp looks like a white Christmas lanscape…

D700 at 800ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 24mm, f4, 1/80sec, bias 2/3EV

D700 at 800ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 35mm, f4, 1/160sec, bias 2/3EV

D700 at 800ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 28mm, f5.6, 1/40sec, bias 2/3EV

The city is nice, and with both the snow and the Christmas decorations is really better.

D700 at 1600ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 22mm, f4, 1/40sec, bias 1+1/3EV

D700 at 3200ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 28mm, f4, 1/20sec, bias 1/3EV

D700 at 1600ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 35mm, f4, 1/20sec, bias 2/3EV

At four thirty, the sun is gone since more than one hour, and is time to come back home.

D700 at 1600ISO, 17-35mm f2.8 AFS at 35mm, f4, 1/13sec, bias -1 1/3EV

Normally, for this kind of photos my favourite equipment is the lighter camera and two or three prime lenses, to use near full aperture.
But today…
Today I’ve chosen of course the most sensible camera, and only one, zoom… and rugged lens.
Coming back home with a full working gear was quite important….
a_

Following the link, there’s a little selection of some of the circa fifty photos I’ve taken today.

Mønsted kalkgruber

andre_ — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:49:10 +0000

Last September, at the beginning of the bad weather weekends (actually, it isn’t finished yet), the only choice to have a walk was going underground.
In the actual sense of the word…

We went to Mønsted (few kilometers east of Viborg), where there’e some old limestone mines, active til thirty years ago.
With about four kilometers’ path under the groundlevel, with many galleries and a pair of little river… mostly without any light.
At the entrance, there’s a completely useless map:

So, I carried my D700, some prime lenses… and I hoped the 6400ISO was enough…
Actually, I have a couple of photos with flash, but the atmoshere we breath is all in the ambient-light shoots.
All BW, of course, to keep the nice contrast we see.

Ok, let’s go in…

D700 at 400ISO, 50mm f1.4 AF, f2.8, 1/500sec, bias -2/3EV

Following the path…

D700 at 6400ISO, 20mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/10sec, bias EV

…and exploring a lot of dark, little, lateral galleries.

D700 at 6400ISO, 16mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/13sec, bias 0EV

To see this kind of landscapes:

D700 at 3200ISO, 28mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/15sec, bias 0EV

Walking on the water…

D700 at 3200ISO, 50mm f1.4 AF, f1.4, 1/25sec, bias 0EV

…water everywhere…

D700 at 3200ISO, 50mm f1.4 AF, f1.4, 1/25sec, bias 0EV

…trying to choose the right direction.

D700 at 6400ISO, 16mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/15sec, bias 0EV

D700 at 3200ISO, 50mm f1.4 AF, f2.0, 1/60sec, bias 0EV

D700 at 400ISO, 16mm f2.8 AF, f4, 1/20sec, bias 0EV

And in one of the darkest places…

D700 at 6400ISO, 28mm f2.8 AF, f2.8, 1/15sec, bias 0EV

…Finally, we met one of the inhabitants:

D700 at 800ISO, 105mm f2 AF, f4, 1/200sec, bias 0EV

We’ve seen also the old factory, where the limestones were processed, but for the nice countryside around, we have to wait the good weather.

For who is interested, this is the homepage of Mønsted kalkminer
a_

And it’s here:

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